Why does DateTime.DaysInMonth return a ushort?

Question

I was just wondering why DateTime.DaysInMonth(int, int) returns an int instead of a ushort? I mean at worst it's 31 (for what the ushort is enough).

What am I missing?

Consider `byte` is not a number - it is one of memory unit, which can represent a number. So better suggestion will be why not `ushort` — Fabio, Oct 02 '16 at 10:00
I've marked as duplicate because I believe that the title of this question is different but the core concern is the same. I really believe that answers on the other question will drive OP to a right conclusion! — Matías Fidemraizer, Oct 02 '16 at 10:10

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 10:27

2

The type would not be CLS Compliant.
Typical hardware is optimized for int operations. That might be one of the reasons why operator overloads like +(byte, byte) or +(short, short) return an int and not a byte or short. Its arguable this is the only reason, consistent behavior with previous languages being another. You can check out this question for more details.

edited May 23 '17 at 10:27

Community

1
1

answered Oct 02 '16 at 10:04

InBetween

32,319
3
50
90

Well I believe the OP is most concerned about what's the reason behind not using `short` or any numeric type with less domain than `int` – Matías Fidemraizer Oct 02 '16 at 10:06
@MatíasFidemraizer yeah, was adding to my answer to adress that concern. – InBetween Oct 02 '16 at 10:09

Why does DateTime.DaysInMonth return a ushort?

1 Answers1